June 21, 2018 Tornado Outbreak
On June 21, 2018 a powerful supercell over the Midwest caused 30 confirmed significant tornadoes to touch down down in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. A total 31 tornadoes touched down, 1 EF2, 11 EF3's, 14 EF4's, and 4 EF5's. A total of 560 people died, another 15,817 were injured, and $30.129 billion (2018 USD) in damages was done. The deadliest tornado was the Oleta, Oklahoma EF5 that killed 161. And the costliest tornado was the New Cordell, Oklahoma EF5 that caused of $7.2 billion (2018 USD) in damages. Oklahoma had the most twisters with 23, Kansas had 6, and Texas had 2. While Oklahoma had the most EF5's with two of the four of the EF5's happening in Oklahoma, the state also had the most EF4's, with 19, the most EF3's with 11 of the 12 EF3's, the state also had the lone EF2. The outbreak is most notable for having the highest rated tornadoes, with none having a rating under EF2. While one of the deadliest and costliest outbreaks to date, the outbreak all started because of a tropical depression that dissipated over Oklahoma, causing many severe and violent tornadoes to touch down. The weakest tornado of the 31 twister outbreak was the Spiro, Oklahoma EF2 with 130 mph winds. The Attica, Kansas EF5 was the strongest with 319 mph (513 km/h) winds. Synopsis Daily statistics Events Main Article: List of tornadoes in the June 21, 2018 Tornado Outbreak Notable Tornadoes El Reno, Oklahoma Main Article: 2018 El Reno, Oklahoma Tornado Antlers, Oklahoma Main Article: 2018 Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Tornado New Cordell, Oklahoma Main Article: 2018 New Cordell, Oklahoma Tornado EF2 damage was recorded to a house at 6:00 PM CDT, two minutes after touchdown. Quickly intensifying into a large-wedge mid-range EF4, 18 deaths were recorded along with over 40 injuries in a shopping plaza outside New Cordell. As a 2.2 mile wide now EF5, 116 were killed along with 1,438 injuries. Dozens of car dealerships, hospitals, restaurants, stores, plazas, schools, and a daycare that were all very well-built were completely swept away, killed luckily only 8 and causing up to $5 billion (2018 USD) alone at those locations. Weakening into a high-end EF3, the tornado would gradually cause EF0 to EF3 inside dozens of vortices. With wind speeds up to 115 mph, EF1 to EF2 damage was done. While weakening into a rope EF0, a forest received many reports of downed trees. A 90 year-old woman was injured when a tree branch fell on her car. The rope finally lifted into the clouds after killing 142, 2,342 more were injured, and $7.2 billion (2018 USD) in damages. As one of multiple tornadoes with 290+ mph winds speeds and killed 100+ people, the New Cordell EF5 was the strongest of the June 21, 2018 tornado outbreak. The following day, the NWS gave the rating an EF5 rating due to extreme damage in New Cordell. The overall path reached 102.92 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. Finley, Oklahoma Main Article: 2018 Finley, Oklahoma Tornado Stanley, Oklahoma Main Article: 2018 Stanley, Oklahoma Tornado Oleta, Oklahoma Main Article: 2018 Oleta, Oklahoma Tornado Touching down as a rope tornado at 5:23 PM CDT, dozens of trees were downed along with mobile homes being moderately damaged. Intensifying quickly into an EF2, 21 were killed when an RV park was hit with 125 mph winds. Entering Oleta as a high-end EF4 with a peak width of 1.4 miles, 66 were killed in a neighborhood of well-built homes. EF5 damage was recorded when a 4-million pound oil tanker was rolled up a hill 350 yards from it's origination. While tracking west to northwest from Oleta to Antlers, at least 4 neighborhoods of well-built homes were completely stripped of their foundations, killing 65. And some foundations even being swept away. Severe ground scouring over 2.5 feet deep occurred. While weakening into an EF4, another 6 were killed when a factory was nearly leveled. Raging from EF1 to EF3 strength, the final 3 were killed when a mobile home was destroyed. After being on the ground for over 2 and a half hours, the tornado finally dissipated after leaving 161 dead, 498 injured, and $4.65 billion (2018 USD), being one of the costliest tornadoes of the season. Mobile radar recorded wind speeds up to 288 mph (463 km/h), being one of the strongest tornadoes of the season. The following day, the NWS sent many survey teams to survey the damage. The final rating was an EF5 due to many homes being completely swept away, clean of debris. The final damage path reached 117.59 miles long and up to 2 miles wide. Union City, Oklahoma Main Article: 2018 Union City, Oklahoma Tornado Eureka, Kansas Main Article: 2018 Eureka, Kansas Tornado Attica, Kansas Main Article: 2018 Attica, Kansas Tornado Overland Park, Kansas Main Article: 2018 Overland Park, Kansas Tornado Dimmitt, Texas Main Article: 2018 Dimmitt, Texas Tornado External Links * List of tornadoes in the June 21, 2018 Tornado Outbreak * 2018 El Reno, Oklahoma Tornado * 2018 Eureka, Kansas Tornado * 2018 Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Tornado * 2018 New Cordell, Oklahoma Tornado * 2018 Finley, Oklahoma Tornado * 2018 Oleta, Oklahoma Tornado * 2018 Stanley, Oklahoma Tornado * 2018 Attica, Kansas Tornado * 2018 Union City, Oklahoma Tornado * 2018 Overland Park, Kansas Tornado * 2018 Dimmitt, Texas Tornado Category:Outbreaks Category:Deadly Outbreaks Category:Deadly Tornadoes Category:Catastrophic Tornadoes Category:Catastrophic Outbreaks Category:Costly Tornadoes Category:Costly Outbreaks Category:Violent Tornadoes Category:Violent Outbreaks Category:F5/EF5 Tornadoes Category:Tornadoes of 2018 Category:Outbreaks of 2018 Category:Tornadoes of 2018 (Hitman) Category:Outbreaks of 2018 (Hitman) Category:Outbreaks (Hitman) Category:Tornadoes (Hitman) Category:Violent Tornadoes Category:Tornadoes